Down with Bottom Feeders VIII

According to the Toronto Globe and Mail, Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn prefaced a statement on global warming and the impact it is having on marine life by saying that he is no scientist.

Well, Minister Hearn, you said it!

You are not a scientist. You are a politician and as such you have a responsibility to listen to scientists when they inform you that trawling the high seas is going to devastate marine life.

In a scrum with Canadian journalists on Friday, non-scientist Hearn defended his refusal to support a ban on deep seas trawling. "It's on the high seas, which means it's completely unregulated and unenforcable so it means practically nothing."

But a real scientist has challenged the non-scientist. Dalhousie professor Boris Worm said the UN banned drift nets in 1992 and that this ban has been respected. Dr. Worm is the author of a widely-published report linking global warming to a collapse of fish stocks.

While non-scientist Hearn reluctantly acknowledged the link between global warming and the depletion of fish stocks, he is sticking firmly to his decision not to support the moratorium. This decision puts non-scientist Hearn opposite the US, UK, France, Norway, Australia, Brazil, Pacific Island Nations, India, South Africa, New Zealand and The Gifted Typist who all support the moratorium.

Earlier in the week protests were held all over the world to raise support for the ban. In New Zealand, "Sea Mounties" (Greenpeace activists dressed as Canadian Mounties) protested outside the Canadian embassy in Wellington with a banner saying "Shame on Canada - Stop deep-sea destruction".

This typist hopes that non-scientist Hearn either starts listening to real scientists or signs up for Marine Biology 101 so he can inform his decisions with better information.

There is a petition that you can sign to show your support for a moratorium on deep seas trawling.